Jim’s pics are a tad small – but I loved what he’s done here:
“Hi Al;
I read the post today from Chis and was surprised at the similarities to a layout I started in August.
My wife and I have a summer home in Ohio. This year due to medical issues my wife encountered (surgery, now chemo, but all will be well when treatment completed!!), it will be April before we can go back to our Florida home.
With winter closing in I wanted a hobby to keep busy. I have always had an interest in local history and I like working with my hands. The result was the creation of the Holland Odessa Rail Road. A mythical short line set in September 1908. Half of the line is located in NW Ohio and the other half is west central Florida (where our two homes are located).
In 1908 NW Ohio was in the grip of the industrial revolution. The two canals in the state still operated (both destroyed in a massive flood during 1913) but trains were definitely the primary movers of goods, opening the country up from the east coast to the west.
Ohio at that time was amazingly the primary supplier of oil for the country. The glass industry became centered in Toledo because it was able to get low cost ‘waste’ natural gas from oil producers trying to get rid it to run the glass furnaces!
A train ‘flag’ stop called Holland located 8 miles west of Toledo was a center for canals built to drain a massive swamp called the Great Black Swamp. It had been over 1,000,000 acres at one time. By 1908 it was mostly drained. Holland, named due to the canals (now deep ditches) is where our summer home is located.
Florida was at least a century behind Ohio. Every disease you can think of existed. Malaria, yellow fever, small pox and on and on. Moreover between the swamps and man killing critters, humans had a hard time just existing yet alone developing. Then in 1880 the trains arrived in the Tampa – St. Petersburg area (St. Petersburg was named by the man who’s railroad first arrived in the area).
In 1900 Tampa had 800 people huddled around an army fort put there to protect against the Seminole Indians and a base for the Spanish American war. By 1910 it had over 15,000 people, by 1920, 34,000 and ever upward. Today the Tampa – St. Petersburg area has over 4 million and still growing.
However, in 1908 a little town called Odessa, (which is were our Florida home is) located12 miles northeast of Tampa was bigger with 2,000 people, being a center of logging for Cypress trees as well as Pine trees. One Cypress tree was reported to have produced a board 56 feet wide!
So that is the basis of the Holland Odessa Short Line and here is what it looked like at first, yep it is 6 feet by 4 feet. I added a second sheet of foam after this picture which you will see why below.
And here is the design (an Atlas plan I followed, buying their 83 code kit for track work). Looks a lot like Chris’s doesn’t it? The control panel is hinged and folds down for ease of working on layout. It is DCC operated by a NCE Pro Cab. Castors allow moving completely around the layout while working on it or showing the layout from the other side.
Below you see the reason for the double foam. I’ve modeled part of the Miami-Erie canal which went from Toledo to Cincinnati Ohio. The double foam sheets allow me to make canals, shape the land down from the tracks as well as putting additional foam on top in areas to create more dramatic hills given the size of the layout. The use of Atlas electric turnouts allows doing this without any control problems.
So here we are today:
Hope you like it. The advice and instruction help in your blog is really helpful. In addition there are great video’s on YouTube as well as the model kit suppliers web sites such as Bar Mills and Campbell. I am really enjoying put this project together.
To complete it I am including family and friends into the time period. I started a three ring binder that holds all the history notes, period pictures and layout design notes developed to make the various parts of the layout. It has a narrative I am writing as I go about the ‘The People of the Holland Odessa R.R.’
In it I transport my family members and friends back in time and write what they might have been if they lived in 1908 and worked either on or around the Holland Odessa Railroad.
So far several people have gone back in time. For example my son and daughter-in-law have been transported back as the caretakers of the Florida Station. There they meet Thomas Edison, get into the power generation business and in time move to another small town called Denver. Their daughter goes on to be a world class skier.
On the Holland Odessa R.R. everyone transported back has an great adventure, fun and enjoys being remembered for making a difference! What more can you ask?
Jim”
“HI Alistair… part 2 of the accident from last week , I have also taken note from one of your member who suggested taking a picture of a bridge , then downsizing and adding it to my Bridge ..it came out very well , just needs a bit more work on it , but a great idea , also a tip when buying on line , make sure you know what you are ordering… As said before , a bit of fun , never does any harm , and well maybe I sniffed the sherry bottle again LOL
Chris has been in touch. He’s added to the 6×4 model train layouts on the blog.
I do love an update – and I do love it when than update is nothing more than the very first stages, because this hobby is all about making a start.
“Hi Alastair,
It has been a bit stop start but the attached photos show what progress I have made so far.
I bought a DCC Ready Hornby Flying Scotsman set from the toy department of a local department store that was selling them at a knock down price.
The store had to sell their stock or return all Hornby items as Hornby had changed their policy to only selling either online or through model shops.
Hooked and before they sold out, I went back a couple of days later and bought a DC West Coast Highlander set, again at a knock down price! That was the easy bit.
Having Triang trains many years ago the bug was there but with family, career etc. it was buried deep. This was the opportunity to have another go. Fortunately I have a lovely tolerant wife who like me has always had an affection for trains, especially steam.
So after discussion and the measuring of rooms, layout size etc. it was agreed that a 6 x 4 table with castors on the legs would do the job.
After a few mistakes the result was this, albeit on reflection a little over engineered….
Thanks to your members many words of wisdom you will see that I was already thinking of converting to DCC and was installing a bus wire.
Much track laying and relaying went on, most of it trying to use too much track and being far too complicated.
The lesson learnt was of course KISS, ‘keep it simple stupid!’
So the up to date situation is this…
.
I have converted to DCC and bought a Hornby Select controller, TTS decoder for the Flying Scotsman (FS) and am waiting to hear from Hornby as to what TTS Decoder would be suitable for the 0-4-0 West Coast Highlander.
I encountered a few problems with the conversion to DCC. Fitting the Decoder to the loco was not an issue but the speaker supplied with it was far too big. Again one of you members came to the rescue in an article where they said they used the speaker from an old mobile phone. Bingo! With a bit of trimming it fitted beautifully by the funnel.
First testing did not go well. In spite of checking all wiring etc the FS seemed to have a mind of it’s own so after two frustration day I phoned the Hornby help line. After much checking and re-setting the problem was found to be the small chip in the DC connecting rail that I was using. Once this was removed full control was achieved.
Having built the Engine Shed and Tunnel Entrances I am now moving on to more scenery building.
Chris.”
It’s good to see a growing list of 6×4 model train layouts, and I’m looking forward to the next missive from Chris.
Now on to Steve who has been back in touch after his last post.
“MANY THANKS for the kind words & encouragement!!! I’ve been working on the layout for about 3-1/2 years now. Mostly in the dreary Cincinnati winter months, as I fly RC planes & helis in nicer weather.
The cost is “classified”. If my wife found out I may have to move me and the layout to the dog house.
There were MANY people who helped along the way: my wife really helped with building colors, Alastair & his work posting others’ work, folks I purchased materials from like Brooklyn Hobby(track, cars, engines), Tam Valley (frog juicers), Scale Model Plans(residential house plans), Litchfield Station(DCC & engine decoders), ANE SmartSwitch (turnout controls), plus many more.
My words of wisdom: plan, think small and DO SOMETHING, Planning, having an idea what you want to do, helps visualize the end result. Yes, plans change, but the overall concept/ scheme of my layout didn’t.
Think small! Not so much in terms of scale, but in terms of trying to do anything. Building & painting the buildings seemed daunting, so I started with one, then another, etc. Same with trees – there’s probably several hundred trees of different sizes/ shapes.
Starting with one (whether building or installing), then another, then another breaks it down into manageable parts.
I never really sat down and said “today I’m going to plant all the tress”, but did say “today I’m going to plant a FEW of trees”, then would get carried away and end up planting 20 or 30 at a time.
For the “Do Something”, I didn’t know how to color rocks, so I was VERY hesitant to get started. I started experimenting with rock coloring. It was terrible the first few times, but I kept trying different things until I hit upon a combination I was satisfied with. Had I not “done something” (even though wrong, at first) I’d still have white plaster castings.
Steve”
A huge thanks to Chris for adding to the 6×4 model train layouts, and to Steve.
